The Noms are in…
I love this time of the year because it is awards season. We have already had the Golden Globes and may I say that Amy Poehler and Tina Fey did a brilliant job hosting this one. But the big one, the nominations for the 86th Annual Academy Awards (widely known as the Oscars), were announced this morning. Notably absent from the nominations for Best Picture were Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Fruitvale Station and Mandela. All three movies were guaranteed a nomination because of the outstanding performances of the actors and the great work the directors did, and many (myself included) were surprised that they did not receive any recognition from the Academy. Who knows how these things are actually determined?
Here are the popular nominations with two favorites to win in each category highlighted:
Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave, please
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Dallas Buyers Club
Nebraska
Her
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actress: I would really like Judi Dench to win and my second favorite to win is Meryl Streep (she is just the best there is), but it would be highly surprising if she did, given last year’s win for the The Iron Lady. Still, Tom Hanks did it and so can she. Girl Power! Even though she is not on my favorite selection, something tells me that Amy Adams will get this one. We’ll see!
Amy Adams ~ American Hustle
Cate Blanchett ~ Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock ~ Gravity
Judi Dench ~ Philomena
Meryl Streep ~ August: Osage County
Best Actor: Really, badly rooting for fellow countryman Chiwetel. He is having the time of his career with this role and may I quickly slide in that another place to see him is in HBO’s Dancing on the Edge. If you like British period dramas (think Downton Abbey), you might enjoy this one. Second favorite to win is Leo, simply because, it is about time the Oscar went home with him. We’ll see!
Christian Bale ~ American Hustle
Chiwetel Ejiofor ~ 12 Years a Slave
Bruce Dern ~ Nebraska
Leonardo di Caprio ~ The Wolf of Wall Street
Matthew McConaughey ~ Dallas Buyers Club
Best Support Actress: Nothing else to say, except Lupita! Lupita! Lupita! I slid Julia in there since she is an old time favorite
Sally Hawkins ~ Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence ~ American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o ~ 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts ~ August: Osage County
June Squibb ~ Nebraska
Best Supporting Actor: I am kind of stuck between break out star Barkhad and Bradley. If Barkhad wins, it will be the incredibly brilliant. One minute you are a chauffeur driver, the next thing you know you are standing on the stage accepting an Oscar. Yes, indeed, “you are the Captain, now!”Dreams can come true. Bradley gets my vote, because, he is Bradley. If you have seen any of the Hangover movies, you might understand where I coming from
Barkhad Abdi ~ Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper ~ American Hustle
Michael Fassbendeer ~ 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill ~ The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto ~ Dallas Buyers Club
Best Animated Feature: (seeing that is all I seem to watch these days) Frozen, please. Best animated movie of 2013! The movies of Studio Ghibli are sensational, which is why it is my next best to win. I’ll bet Frozen will pick the Oscar but then again, the Oscars are always full of surprises!
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
The Oscars will be held on Sunday March 2, hosted by personal favorite Ellen DeGeneres at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Congratulations to all the nominees especially Barkhad, Lupita and Chiwetel for continuing to be one of many that prove that many good things come out of Africa!
